Bosque del Cabo Rainforest Lodge

Rooms

The 3 larger villas (sleeping 4-8) are the standouts here: Casas Blanca, Coco and Miramar. Dotted around the gardens, all have airy living areas (including a kitchen), 2 or 3 bedrooms (including one which can sleep up to 4), and a stunning wraparound porch, fringed by flowering foliage, with Pacific views and sundeck. Expect comfy beds, ceiling fans, louvred windows and semi-outdoor bathrooms; power is solar or hydro or both (you can charge devices).

Casa Blanca has the biggest deck (groups of 20+ have done yoga here), and the best ocean views. It has 2 bedrooms: one kingsize, one with 2 queens. Newer Casa Coco boasts its own plunge pool, flat lawns to side and rear, and lofty indoor spaces including 2 kingsize double bedrooms. Located a mile from the restaurant, it is the most private and comes with its own trail to the beach. Casa Miramar is the largest and quirkiest, with organically curved walls, wonky glassless windows and open lava-stone bathrooms - something of the caveman-chic. It's spread over 3 small houses, linked by heliconia-lined pathways and comes with an observation deck and a small private pool, as well as wonderful panoramic ocean and sunset views.

At the centre of the property, by the main lodge and restaurant, are 9 Deluxe Cabinas, Aracari Villa and La Orquidea. The cabinas are simple standalone huts with thatched roofs and fold-back doors onto a terrace with rocking chairs or sofas, hammocks and ocean views. There's a kingsize double bed, and a shower bathroom. Ylang has two double beds, while six others have a loft bedroom reached by ladder, with a double and a single bed - perfect for families. Aracari is a two-storey villa with three bedrooms (2 doubles, 1 twin) and two bathrooms, to suit a family; La Orquidea is a standalone raised casita with a large bedroom for 2-4, so suits either a couple or a family.

Features include:

• Fan
• In-room treatments available
• Safe box

Eating

If you're staying in a cabin or suite, all meals are included in the rates. If you're staying in a casa you can self-cater - they come with their own kitchen (hob, fridge, a decent range of implements) - or you can add a meal package to your stay.

All meals are served in the restaurant. Breakfast includes juice and fruit followed by a choice of hot breakfasts, including their famous banana pancakes (which we loved), or spicy Mexican scrambled eggs. A simpler early breakfast is available for those going off on early morning activities.

Lunch includes a spread of Costa Rican and international dishes: perhaps corn tortillas with grilled local fish, a rice- and bean casado with salads, or curried chicken and papaya sandwich. If you plan a longer excursion, you can request a packed lunch in advance. Or fill up from the all-day menu of snacks, dips and chips, plus tea and coffee (and maybe banana cake) in the afternoons.

Dinner is at 7pm, a generous and sociable buffet with a choice of meat and fish dishes, together with salads and potatoes. We loved the tenderloin of beef, and the grilled red snapper. There is also locally grown veg - maybe coconut black beans, grilled chayote with lime, or oven-roasted ayote squash - so vegetarians need not panic (but be sure to let staff know in advance as they can't just pop out to the shops!).

Features include:

• Bar
• Kids' meals
• Restaurant
• Vegetarian options

Activities

• Trails criss-cross the lodge's 750-acre reserve, and the best way to start is to join the morning primary forest tour with their resident biologist: a fascinating insight (you need to be reasonably fit though)
  
• Go early morning bird-watching with Carlos (the hotel’s receptionist and bird guide). Keep your eyes peeled and you could spot scarlet rumped tanager, kiskadee, toucan, parakeets and macaws
  
• Take a sunset tour with Philip: see bats, kinkajou, possum, reptiles, up to 8 species of frog, insects and snakes around the hotel’s grounds
  
• There's a boat tour to see dolphins (all year). Most people do this on the same day as the Rio Esquinas mangrove swamp tour and the animal sanctuary visit
  
• Visit Corcovado National Park, one of the most diverse in Costa Rica, with ocelots, tapirs, jagarundis, and peccaries: it's an hour's drive to Carate and then a hike along the beach, or a light aircraft to Sirena airstrip
  
• Wander down to the beach for some surfing; or snorkelling on reefs in the Golfo Dulce region
  
• Go horse-riding through magnificent primary rainforest, ending with a fabulous 270-degree view of the Pacific and Corcovado
  
• Fishing can be arranged - inshore and offshore, billfish, rooster, snapper, jackfish
  
• Open-air massages are available in the lodge's gardens, near 2 immense trees; or in your casa; yoga classes can be booked nearby

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Fishing
• Hiking
• Horse riding
• Kayaking
• Plantlife / flora
• Private guided tours
• Snorkelling
• Surfing
• Whale watching
• Wildlife
• Windsurfing
• Yoga

Kids

This is paradise for adventurous kids. Families will find the villas or the larger cabins with lofts ideal. There are lots of kid-friendly activities (horse-riding, zip wire, the pool) and they'll like the buffet-style meals. Pleasingly, due to limited power supply, there are no televisions and limited internet.

All ages are accepted, but toddlers are not encouraged, as some cabinas don't have railings on their decks. Babies are welcome; cots and high chairs are available. Overall we think it's best suited for adventurous kids aged 8 and over, largely because of the activities.

Best for:

Children (4-12 years), Teens (over 12)

Family friendly accommodation:

Families with 2 adults and 2 children can book one of the deluxe cabinas with a loft, so long as the kids are happy climbing a ladder to reach their loft bedroom. Alternatively, Aracari Villa can sleep 6 comfortably in its three bedrooms, while Ylang Ylang and La Orquidea can each sleep 4-6 in one room. For larger families, or two families travelling together, the three casas are perfect: they have full kitchens and sleep 4, 6 or 8 respectively, though in some cases 2 children might need to share a double bed.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available, Family Rooms

Distances:

• Airport: 45 minutes
• Market: 45 minutes
• Medical facilities: 45 minutes

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Bosque del Cabo is on the beautiful Osa Peninsula, 25km (or 45 mins' bumpy drive) from the town and domestic airport of Puerto Jiménez.

By Air:
Puerto Jiménez (25km) has domestic flights only. From abroad, fly into San José or Liberia and then take an onwward flight (the former has a wider choice). Or you could drive, but it's the best part of a day. From Puerto Jiménez Airport, the lodge can pick you up at the tiny airstrip; it's a 45+ minute drive on dirt roads, crossing multiple streams (4WD required).

By Car:
You could drive here from San José, but it would take around 8 hours, and the last stretch requires a 4WD. See our car rental recommendations.

By Bus:
There is a daily bus service from San José (Barrio Mexico) to Puerto Jiménez but it is 9 hours long and pretty tiring.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.